sports in brief

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 30, 2008

Local & state: WU volleyball team stunned by Mavericks

No. 7 Washburn was upset by Nebraska-Omaha 3-1 on Wednesday at Omaha, Neb., ending a 12-match winning streak.

The Lady Blues, No. 1 in the region rankings, lost to UNO 14-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21.

Monica Miesner had nine kills to move into fifth in career kills at WU (26-3, 11-3 MIAA). Ashley Shepard and Mollie Lacy each had 13 kills to lead the Blues. WU outhit UNO .237 to .224, but the Mavericks had 13 blocks to only three for the Blues.

Washburn also had nine service errors.

Greg Gurley, a former guard for the Kansas basketball team, will be analyst for the Jayhawk Television Network broadcasts, Jayhawk Sports Marketing said Wednesday.

Gurley replaces Paul Splittorff and will join Dave Armstrong on the J-TV broadcasts. He has worked the past eight years as analyst for 6 News in Lawrence rebroadcasts of KU men's games. He also has worked the past 10 years as a college basketball studio analyst for Metro Sports.

A native of Leawood, Gurley played at Kansas from 1992-95.

SHARA STAFFORD, a Topeka native and freshman swimmer at Florida, was named the Southeastern Conference's female freshman of the week Tuesday. In her first collegiate meet, Stafford finished second in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles, clocking a time of 50.45 seconds in the 100 and 1 minutes, 50.04 in the 200.

Her 100 time ranks first in the SEC. She also met the NCAA B cut in the 100 backstroke with a 55.13 as part of the women's 400 medley relay that took second in the triangular with Michigan and Stanford.

NFL: Kiffin files grievance,wants lost salary from Raiders

Former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin filed a grievance with the NFL on Wednesday to claim the lost salary he maintains he is still owed by the team.

Kiffin was fired late last month for cause because of what owner Al Davis described as acts of insubordination and lying by his second-year coach.

Kiffin was still owed about $2.6 million from the three-year contract that he signed in January 2007. But Davis has refused to pay, leading to the grievance. Commissioner Roger Goodell will ultimately rule on the grievance, but there was no date for a hearing scheduled.

Raiders executive John Herrera issued a statement to The Associated Press refuting Kiffin's claims, saying "Mr. Kiffin was terminated for cause. The grievance is without merit."

The Detroit Lions worked out quarterback Daunte Culpepper and liked how he looked.

"He moved around good," Lions coach Rod Marinelli said Wednesday. "Good feet and all those things.

"We looked at him and visited with him and we'll see how things work out."

Injured Colts safety Bob Sanders, running back Joseph Addai and cornerback Kelvin Hayden all practiced Wednesday. They could be healthy enough to play Sunday against archrival New England.

"I expect that they will all be out there (Wednesday), and if all goes well, I expect them to play Sunday," coach Tony Dungy said before practice.

None of the three was listed on the team's practice report, meaning the three players participated in all drills.

For weeks, Darren McFadden was slowed by a turf toe injury on his right foot. Now that he has that almost under control, he's dealing with a turf toe injury on his other foot.

"You just hope it's some kind of freak accident going out there and you get well on one foot, and then you come back and tweak the other one a little bit," McFadden said after missing practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday.

Vince Wilfork, New England defensive tackle, will be fined but not suspended by the NFL after meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell about a hit on Denver quarterback Jay Cutler, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

General: Ballesteros improvingafter surgery on tumor

Seve Ballesteros is improving after last week's surgery on his cancerous brain tumor.

The La Paz hospital said Wednesday in a one-sentence statement that the 51-year-old golfing great remains in intensive care.

The hospital said Ballesteros' condition was "evolving favorably."

Golfer John Daly was taken into custody Sunday morning by Winston- Salem (N.C.) police after he was found drunk outside an area Hooters restaurant.

JAMAL CRAWFORD scored 29 points, Zach Randolph added 20, and the Knicks beat the Miami Heat 120-115 on Wednesday night to win their first game under Mike D'Antoni.

Dwyane Wade had 26 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Heat and rookie Michael Beasley, the No. 2 pick in the draft from Kansas State, had only nine points on 4-of-14 shooting. Former Kansas standout Mario Chalmers and Beasley both started for the Heat.

Trail Blazers center Greg Oden will miss two to four weeks because of an injury to his right foot.

The team said Wednesday that an MRI confirmed Oden has a mid- lateral foot sprain.

The Warriors signed Don Nelson to a contract extension Wednesday, hours before the veteran coach opened his 30th NBA season against New Orleans.

From staff and wire reports